July 2022

Lower Hill District Summer Bulletin

The Lower Hill District News & Updates July 2022 Summer, Summer, Summer Time!  The sun is blazing, the tower crane is hot and the concrete climber in the Lower Hill Redevelopment Site is steadily building up the core of the First National Bank Financial Center and it’s all so inspiring! Finally, we are able to see much more than surface parking lots, giant piles of dirt and bulldozers, we are seeing our goals, promises and plans come to fruition. Like the seniors in the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education Program, we have graduated! We are steadily expanding our commitments and payments to minority and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs). The Lower Hill First Source Center Job Fair and Open House was a major success. After delivering over $7 million of LERTA funding directly to the Historic Hill District last Fall for community use on housing, development, programming and more in the neighborhood, we are working on the next round of LERTA funding for the community. With the Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan as our guide, we have the best reinvestment program in the nation and we are not too shy to say it! There is so much to report, from our recent Industry Award to our gifts to CTE Seniors to our our celebration of Juneteenth and the August Wilson Block Party, we are having a blast this Summer as we get ready to break ground later this year on the Block E mixed-use project with parking, entertainment, retail and much more. We are showing up and showing out this Summer on all of the work we have done to get to this point! CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES Development Project Coordinator The Buccini/Pollin's Lower Hill Redevelopment Team is searching for a Development Project Coordinator with a great skill set! Are you detail oriented? Love charts, forms and reports? An excellent writer? Then this may be the job for you! Please see the job description and how to apply by clicking the button below! Click Here to Apply! Lower Hill Team Kicks Off Open Space Call for Artists The Lower Hill Redevelopment team seeks to commission artworks for the first phase of the Lower Hill, as part of its Open Space Arts Program. The artworks will complement the initial phases of public open spaces across Washington Place from the newly-opened Frankie Mae Pace Park and are an important element of the team’s reinvestment in Historic Hill District cultural and legacy initiatives. Artists will have an opportunity to submit proposals over the coming months for areas of the Lower Hill site that will open in the Winter of 2023. VIRTUAL INFO SESSION | JULY 28, 2022 | 6 PM All submissions must be turned in no later than August 8th at 11:59 PM. Click 'Read more' for event details and the application link. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com RECENT NEWS FNB’s Closing Cost Assistance Program Boosts Home Ownership Initiatives Lower Hill partner and anchor tenant First National Bank (FNB) recently increased its Closing Cost Assistance Grant to $5,000. To address a common financial barrier to home ownership, FNB expanded its closing cost assistance program in urban markets. In doing so, FNB is advancing its commitment to borrowers who have low or moderate income or who are purchasing a home in a low- to moderate-income (LMI) community.  The Closing Cost Assistance Grant further builds on FNB’s overarching focus on promoting economic equality since the majority of the LMI areas where it is available include historically underserved minority communities. Click here to download the flyer Pittsburgh’s Equal Opportunity Review Commission Approves the Next Phase of Commercial Development on the Lower Hill On Thursday, June 16, 2022, the Lower Hill team presented its plans to engage minority- and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs) in the design, construction and operations of the mixed-use project on Block E to the Equal Opportunity Review Commission (EORC) for the City of Pittsburgh. The Commission also received an update on M/WBE inclusion in the under-construction FNB Financial Center project, where over $42 million in construction contracts has been committed to M/WBEs.  The Commission approved these plans for Block E. The Block E project, previously approved by the URA and SEA in 2019, is advancing later this year after delays related to the pandemic. The $100 million+ project will deliver much-needed public parking infrastructure and a vibrant entertainment venue along Wylie Avenue – in the center of the Lower Hill District – along with continued reinvestment across the Middle and Upper Hill.   Stay tuned for upcoming Block E information sessions from the Development Team and diversity consultant eHoldings. The First Source Center Celebrates Year Anniversary! It's almost hard to believe but the Lower Hill First Source Center just passed its One Year Anniversary! We held a Grand Opening celebration last June after the center was built out using 100% M/WBE contractors and specifically African American contractors. The opening celebration featured members of the Historic Hill District community, elected officials, business owners and operators and a joyous Lower Hill Team! Despite opening during the pandemic, the First Source Center has momentum across its workforce development initiatives and some solid accomplishments to date in training, recruiting and job placement into family-sustaining careers in fields such as construction, operations and hospitality. Learn more about the FSC by downloading the brochure and please fill out the intake form if you wish to take advantage of these opportunities or know someone who should. Read more Lower Hill Artist Meetup at Frankie Mae Pace Park The Lower Hill Team welcomed artists to Frankie Mae Pace Park on Saturday, July 9, for the in-person, Artists Meetup in response to our Call for Artists. The M Robinson Group, originally from the Historic Hill District, served as the event planner. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com The CTE Program - An Award Winning Partnership! Dr. Kimberly C. Ellis of BPG Receives Partnership Award "It was a great day for the Lower Hill District! Forming a partnership with the CTE Program is something David Morehouse had always wanted to do and had mentioned to State Representative, Jake Wheatley, many years ago." Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com On May 5, the Pittsburgh Public School's Career and Technical Education (PPS-CTE) Program held its graduation for Seniors. It was a beautiful event honoring all of the young people who have stayed committed to the CTE process. Their teachers, parents, mentors and representatives of their future career paths (be it the Carpenter’s Apprenticeship Program or LaRoche College), were all in attendance.  At the beginning of the program, the Pittsburgh Penguins' David Morehouse and The Buccini/Pollin Group’s Dr. Kimberly C. Ellis were both honored with an Industry Partnership Award. Morehouse’s vision for building strong connections between the Lower Hill Redevelopment and students in the CTE program along with Dr. Ellis’ diligence in delivering initial programming elements to build toward that vision were acknowledged during the ceremony.   CTE "Career Exploration Day" at PPG Paints Arena Thursday April 28th, 2022 the Lower Hill Redevelopment Team kicked off a partnership with Pittsburgh Public School's Career Technical Education program at PPG Paints Arena. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com Welcome Denna Zenmon, First Source Center Street Team Lead Denna Zenmon joins the Lower Hill's First Source Center Street Team! As a Team Lead, she adds to a career crafted around supporting and uplifting others - traits mirrored for her in her youth as she observed her mother, as well as her community,... Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com The "I Am So Hill" Block Party The "I Am So Hill" Block Party on Saturday, July 9, was a childhood memory-filled experience. It was created by Historic Hill Resident, Renarda Walker, who lived in public housing but always experienced a sense of community in her neighborhood. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com Street Team Kicks off Summer at August Wilson Block Party The Lower Hill Street Team underwent two different trainings during this quarter and we are out and about in the city of Pittsburgh! Our first event for the Summer was tabling at the August Wilson Birthday Block Party. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com Lower Hill Team Marches Joyfully in Juneteenth Parade! The Pittsburgh Penguins took part in the Grand Jubilee Juneteenth Parade with a beautiful float accompanied by young people from the region and the Penguins' Senior Director of Strategic Community Initiatives, Delvina Morrow. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com The Hill Community Mixer ​On June 14, 2022, District Six City Councilman, Daniel Lavelle, partnered with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to offer a Hill District celebration of the activities happening in the Historic Hill District, particularly around development. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com UPCOMING EVENTS DIAPER DISTRIBUTION | July 23 | 10 AM - 2 PM Diaper Distribution | July 23, 2022 | 10AM-2PM Development partner, First National Bank, will be partnering with Carnegie Library for a Diaper & Book distribution on Saturday, July 23 from 10 am - 2 pm CLP - Hill District, Central Baptist Church’s lower parking lot. Read more www.lowerhillredevelopment.com AUGUST WILSON HOUSE August Wilson's JITNEY | Friday, August 12 - Sunday, September 18 Directed by Mark Clayton Southers, August Wilson’s Jitney is a compelling drama which depicts the lives of the drivers at a jitney cab station in the Hill District in 1977. This is an outdoor production at August Wilson House, 1727 Bedford Avenue in the Lower Hill. August 12th-September 18th, Thursday-Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 5 PM For more info: August Wilson House August Wilson Grand Opening | Saturday August 13, 2022 For more info: August Wilson House Questions, Comments or Content Suggestions? Send us your feedback at [email protected]. We will do our best to answer quickly and accurately. Your question may just be featured in our next newsletter! Sign Up for the Newsletter ‌ ‌ Lower Hill Redevelopment